Review of Micaden's Madness

I always love V.F Mason's books and this was no exception!! This is my third book of the author after - Psychopath's Prey and Lachlan's Protege. Both of them were excellent read and Micaden's Madness comes on the same shelf and also makes for a very engaging and interesting read. The trademark elements of the author are present in abundance in this book as well - the darkness, misunderstandings, torture, agony of separation, angst, a need to kill, necessity of survive, anger, wrath, bloodshed and amidst all that - Love and loads of HOT sex!!! I don't want to touch upon the story as it unravels in many layers and makes for a beautiful story with quite a few twists and turns and loads of drama. The main leads in this book are - Micaden and Emerald. What started out as a sweet love story) summer fling for them soon takes a dark turn, transforming into a gut wrenching, heart breaking take of love, loss and revenge. What I loved - The storyline though kind of predictable, had a lot of potential and more than the story itself, the execution of it was even better. The emotions of the characters and their dilemma was brought out very well with Shakespearean dialogues at the beginning of every chapter. They create a tragic yet suspenseful atmosphere. I liked both Micaden and emerald as individuals and though Micaden did get on my nerves on couple of occasions, but after reading his side of the story, I could completely empathetize with and my heart actually bled out for him. It was very sad and frustrating at the same time and the hatred he housed was very understandable and though I wasn't rooting for him, I wanted his justice to be served and I wanted him to serve it with him own bare hands ! That was the extent to which I was connected with the characters and their plights. Emerald - I did like her, but some of her actions confused me. I couldn't quite get her attraction for him the second time around. It was one of those parts where I felt the story was rushed and contrived. I got their intense sexual chemistry but at the second time around, their love didn't seem all that pure and real to me like it was the first time. My another complaint is in regards to the whole amnesia and writing a book. Somewhere they didn't gel well with the backstory and the dark tone of the book. It felt out of place forced into the plot just to make the settings more authentic and give the story a proper flow. But I didn't really buy into it and felt it could have been showcased in a better way and could have just been written as chapters of the past without throwing in the whole 'writing a book', plot and for the most part even Micaden didn't buy into it and never paid any attention to her book so it kind of felt pointless to me. The climax was also predictable and felt a little too easy - the revelation could have happened more dramatically perhaps? I knew throwing the villain into the mix was essentially to show the heights they could go to for one another but still...it didn't feel all that real. Him popping out of nowhere to claim his women- it felt trite and had the same ring as that of Lachlan's Protege. Though the latter was more justified and necessary, for this book, something else might have worked that could serve the same purpose without another baddie being added to the mix. What I absolutely loved - The brotherhood (if I can even call it that) between them all - Lachlan, Micaden, Arsen, Jaxon, sociopath and Shan!! It's best element of the series and author has brought it out exceptionally well! It's not friendship and love that ties them together but it's loyalty and pain and it makes them always have each other's back!! I loved this relation of theirs, especially when they all come together! And so far, Arson is my favorite though I know very little about him. I can't wait to read his book!!! I know it's going to be splendid considering how amazing and appeasing he is to me;) I would go with 4 maddening stars for this book:) Overall, it was a very enjoyable read and I will definitely be reading more of the author's book and won't be missing any in this series.